SERIOUSLY ill patients with breathing problems are to benefit from a development at the Royal Liverpool hospital.

The trust is investing £140,000 and recruiting six nurses to set up a dedicated respiratory enhanced care unit, where patients with breathing difficulties can get specialised, non-invasive care.

Although similar services were already available at the hospital, patients have previously been scattered across two wards there.

The specialist unit brings all patients with breathing difficulties together to allow for more localised care in a better environment.

New equipment in the unit will allow nurses to assist patients’ breathing, and assess their condition, without invasive and potentially uncomfortable procedures.

Directorate manager Colette Turner said: “This new unit bringing all these types of services together will be of real benefit to the patients and also to the nursing staff, who will be able to monitor patients in a dedicated environment.”